


Amazing 4

by fireflysglow_archivist



Category: Firefly
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-03-28
Updated: 2003-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 06:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14466738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireflysglow_archivist/pseuds/fireflysglow_archivist
Summary: Mal comes to the rescue. Then Zoe swoops in to really save the day. River reveals a secret. Jayne realizes he wants more.





	Amazing 4

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Firefly’s Glow](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Firefly%27s_Glow), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Firefly's Glow collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fireflysglow/profile).

 

Amazing 4

## Amazing 4

### by Belle

Chapter 4  
There was a roaring in Mal's ears as he walked. It had started the minute he'd picked Simon up and began the journey back to his room. The boy had been incoherent and scared and very much like his sister. A chill ran up Mal's spine at this last thought and he tried to ignore it as he half ran half walked the last few feet to Simon's door. He went to hit the latch with his foot when River appeared at the door to her room. 

"Help me," Mal said and she quickly hit the latch and followed him inside her brother's room. As they entered the stench of sweat and fear hit them and made River gasp and Mal tighten his grip on Simon. 

"Take those sheets off the bed and find some candles," he ordered. River nodded slightly and began ripping the sheets from the bed as Mal gingerly sat in the small chair beside Simon's desk and cradled the boy in his arms. He looked down at him and wondered what in the verse had set him off so. 

"Nightmares," River said quietly as she made the sheets and pillowcases into a bundle and threw them to the floor, "Doesn't know he's doing it." 

"Doing what?" Mal asked through clenched teeth. 

"Taking them from me, making me better, more like me than he knows, 3 percent," she whispered as she remade the bed with fresh sheets. 

"Are you saying this is cause of you? He's like this cause of you?!" Mal whispered fiercely with barely controlled anger and fear. 

River turned tear laden eyes toward him and he felt his heart constrict at the pain he saw there, "Yes," was all she said as she ran from the room. 

"What are you doing here?" Simon asked looking over at Mal from his bed. 

Mal's eyes flew open at the voice and he tried to think fast for a reason why he was in Simon's bedroom. He cursed himself silently for falling asleep during his self imposed vigil over the young doctor, "Well I reckon it's cause I fell asleep, I'll be going now though," he said and started to get up to leave. A hand caught his arm and he felt heat shoot through him at the touch. 

"That doesn't explain what you were doing in here in the first place Mal, what's going on?" Simon asked unconsciously tugging Mal closer to him as he sat up. Mal looked down at the hand on his arm and then into the eyes of the boy looking at him in confusion and started to answer when he heard River's voice. 

"I asked him to come, was having bad dreams, was making you twitchy," she said and peeked over the other side of Simon's bed from the floor looking at them. Simon released Mal's arm and rolled to his other side to look at his little sister on the floor. 

Mal glanced at the long expanse of skin before him and closed his eyes. Gotta get out of here, gotta get out of here, he thought desperately to himself. River glanced at him briefly and continued her tale of bad dreams as Mal quietly slipped up the ladder, his presence forgotten by Simon, who as usual had turned all his focus to his sister at the slightest hint of a problem. When Mal had made it to the hallway he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He didn't notice the angry brown eyes that watched him as he made his way down the corridor. 

Son of a ruttin' bitch, Jayne thought as he watched Mal make his way from Simon's room, couldn't keep your word. Had to have him for yourself. You're gonna pay for lyin' to me Mal, Jayne glance once more to Simon's room, you both are. 

Later 

"Jayne grab your weapon," Zoe had said. 

"You think they're in trouble," Jayne had asked. 

"They should've been back an hour ago," Zoe had replied able to suppress the fear from her voice but not from her eyes. 

So they'd left and all hell had broken loose. Niska had gotten his hands on Mal and Wash and they'd went in to get 'em. All of 'em. Including Simon. Jayne had watched as him and little Kaylee had gotten themselves geared up to go in there and get Mal out, and though he'd never admit it to anyone they were the reason he'd decided to go. He'd seen the fear in their eyes, but the determination was there too and he knew he couldn't let them in there by themselves. Knew he couldn't take a chance of something happening to them. Mal could go straight to hell as far as Jayne was concerned, Niska getting his hands on him was what he deserved, the least of what he deserved. But Simon and Kaylee? They'd be dead before they even hit the ground runnin' with only Wash and the Shepherd to look out for them. And the thought of that, of never hearing Kaylee's laughter, bright as the stars outside, or seeing Simon get all flustered when he pulled some prank on him, of watching Kaylee love the ship more than Mal deserved, or watching Simon in the dark quietly sing his sister to sleep. The thought of losing that, twisted something in him, made a pain rip through him that he couldn't identify. So he'd gone and he'd gotten Mal out. And he watched as Simon fussed over Mal, watched those long fingers caress Mal's face and he felt the hate well up in him again. Someone had to hurt for this. Someone had to pay for making him feel this way. 

"I hear tell you took up arms to get me outta there," Mal said watching Simon, "How you feel about that doctor?" He asked. He watched Simon pale a little more than usual and wanted to scram at the 'verse for the circumstances that led this boy to have horrific nightmares that he couldn't remember because he wanted to help his sister, that led him into a life on the run, that ripped more and more of his innocence from him. 

"I don't know, I've never shot anyone before," Simon said quietly folding his arms around himself, unconsciously protecting himself. 

Book looked at Simon then looked at Mal looking at Simon, "Trust me son I was there and you still haven't shot anyone," he said with a smile. 

Simon blushed and dropped his arms, bowing at the head slightly making black hair flop over a pale brow. Mal laughed himself into a slight coughing fit and uncoiled his body from the tension that had been causing him to wince unconsciously in pain, and walked away to talk to Kaylee. And Book smiled. 

"I wonder how much longer it's going to take for Mal to realize how much he loves that boy," he thought glancing first at Mal and then at the still slightly flushed Simon, "I wonder if he'll even be able to trust it after all his parents have put him through." 

"Goodnight mei mei," Simon whispered as he closed the door to his sleeping sister's room. She seemed calmer that night than she had before as if she'd found some small measure of peace. Maybe it's cause Mal and Wash were back and safe. He didn't know but he was grateful for it whatever it was. As he made his way down the hall he thought about the events of the day and his reaction to them. Specifically his reaction to the fact that the captain had been kidnapped. How, when Zoe had said that Niska had them he'd felt his whole world drop through the floor. He was going to have to look at that soon, he thought with a yawn as he made his way to the kitchen to make some tea before he went to bed. So into his thoughts was Simon that he didn't notice the big man in the corner of the kitchen watching him. 

#### If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Belle


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